Stephan Negru (born 24 July 2002) is an Irish professional
footballer who plays as a
defender for club
Salford City, on loan from club
Oxford United.
Club career
Negru started his career with Lourdes Celtic, before moving to
Shelbourne in 2017.
Having spent six years playing youth football for Shelbourne, he made his debut in August 2022, playing 90 minutes in a 4–0
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
win over
Bonagee United.
League of Ireland Premier Division
The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...
with a goal; the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Finn Harps.[
On 15 December 2022, it was announced that Negru would join ]EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side Oxford United on 1 January 2023.Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, but did not feature as his side lost 3–0. He made his first-team and League One debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday on 7 April 2023, and his full debut in the following match, a goalless away draw at Port Vale on 9 April, in which he suffered a suspected broken nose, though later scans showed there was no fracture.
After an injury to Jordan Thorniley early in the 2023–24 season led to a run of first-team appearances, Negru's promising form reportedly attracted interest from Premier League teams, prompting the club to extend his contract in September 2023.
In June 2024 he signed on loan for Salford City for the 2024–25 season.
International career
Though multiple sources cite his place of birth as Florești, Moldova, Negru himself has stated that he was born in Ireland.[ He has held discussions with both nations, with Moldova looking to call him up at under-21 level.
]
Style of play
An aggressive defender, who describes his defending style as "old-school", Negru lists John Terry as a player he models his game on.[
]
Personal life
Regarding his Moldovan heritage, his surname Negru literally means "black" in the Romanian language. This became a center of discussion when, on 24 September, IShowSpeed called Negru via FaceTime during a livestream. The two engaged in a comical conversation regarding FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
cards and his surname, to which Negru clarified the pronunciation of his name and his background. The call concluded with the two playfully barking at each other, IShowSpeed's well-known signature. During the call, however, Negru's number was accidentally leaked to the audience.
Career statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negru, Stephan
2002 births
Living people
Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Men's association football defenders
League of Ireland players
Shelbourne F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
Salford City F.C. players
Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers
Irish expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Irish people of Moldovan descent
English Football League players